Martial arts
became an integral part of my life when I was 15. And stayed that way
till I failed my second degree black belt test in 1987. This failure
spurred me to undertake a trip to Okinawa, the land of Karate, and study
traditional Okinawan Shorin Matsubayashi Ryu Karate (I was pursuing
GoJu-Ryu Karate before) - under the direct guidance of Grandmaster Hanshi
Shoshin Nagamine, 10th Degree Black Belt.

I
owe a great deal of what I have internalized in martial arts to
the great Grandmaster for he was the one who taught me that there
is more to the art than punching and kicking. Had it not been
for him, I would not have come so far.

I made 5 visits to Okinawa in all, coming in
contact with the legendary masters who helped me to add new depth
to my training. I also passed the tests of 3rd, 4th and 5th degree
Black Belt, conducted by Grandmaster Nagamine himself. I would
have gone further, but lost my zest to continue when my Grandmaster
died in 1997.